


Deposit Security

by Reioka



Series: Reioka's Tumblr Prompts [13]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: College, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, MIT Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 00:44:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11070492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reioka/pseuds/Reioka
Summary: Tony's always been a little weirdo. Jim likes him anyway.





	Deposit Security

**Author's Note:**

> TITLES ARE HAAAAAARD. (It's because Tony needs constant reassurance, get it? No? Well, it was a stretch.)
> 
> This was a prompt on Tumblr: "So maybe I could have Tony who finally decides to try and trust someone and so he tells Rhodey (at MIT) about his past, what had really hurt him (not having any friends, people laughing at him, Howard not caring about him at all) and how he feels because of it. He's the most vulnerable he has ever been while saying all this to Rhodey, but he decides that he has to trust someone eventually and he doesn't think Rhodey will ever use it against him."
> 
> It is so hard to figure out whether to call him Jim or Rhodey I want to die. I’m going with Jim this time, because it’s from his point of view, mostly.

Deposit Security

 

Jim came back from break to find Tony sitting on his bed, carefully changing the strut on his helper-robot. It looked like the arm had been bent. He grimaced. What had Tony been trying to do that the ‘bot was bent like that? He was kind of glad it was the robot and not Tony, even if Tony  _did_  need to fix it now.

 

“Hey, man,” he greeted, smiling, and walked over to clap a hand on his shoulder. His smile dropped when the boy flinched. He removed his hand immediately. “Hey, you okay?”

 

“’m fine,” Tony mumbled, shrugging his shoulders, and kept his head down toward the robot. “How was your break? How’s your mom?”

 

Jim narrowed his eyes and circled around to look at his face. He ground his teeth when the younger boy turned his head to avoid his gaze. “You wanna look at me?”

 

“…No,” Tony admitted softly.

 

Jim sighed and squatted down next to him. “You wanna do it anyway?”

 

The younger boy stayed silent for several minutes, then slowly turned, looking down at his shoes. Jim couldn’t help the hiss that escaped from between his teeth as he saw the bruising on Tony’s face, fading splotches around his left eye and up his temple. “Holy  _shit,_  man!”

 

Tony scowled, jerking his head back to face the robot. “’s no big deal.”

 

“No big-?! You’re aware that being hit in the head even if you don’t get bruised is a big deal, right?” Jim reached out to feel around the edges of the bruise. The skin still felt warm to the touch, as if the bruise had been larger, and he could tell it was taking everything Tony had not to flinch away from his hand. “Jesus, Tony.”

 

Tony finally jerked away from his hand, jaw set stubbornly, and lifted his wrench to finally remove the bolt keeping the ‘bot’s arm on. “It’s no big—look, I’m here again; it doesn’t matter. My face’ll heal and I’ll keep getting A’s and I’ll just skip going home for spring break.”

 

Jim clenched his jaw. “Your parents did this to you?”

 

“There was an accident in the lab,” Tony said blandly. “Don’t worry. Howard’s never touched me. He’s never cared to.”

 

It took everything he had to keep from yelling. Jim took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Is that why your robot’s bent?”

 

“Dum-E tried to lift something up before I could reinforce his arm.” Tony gave the robot’s chassis a pat when it beeped sadly. “’s okay, Dum-E. I’ve got your new arm here. Should be able to lift fifty more pounds.”

 

“Did you go to a doctor?” Jim asked, staring at the bruise.

 

Tony scoffed. “Why, so they could ask if daddy was hitting me too? It’s just a bruise.”

 

Jim swallowed down an angry noise. It looked like he had a fractured cheek, too.

“You’re coming to my house for spring break,” Jim informed Tony. “I packed your bag.”

 

Tony gaped at him. “I was  _going_  to upgrade Dum-E’s wheels.”

 

“Yeah, and I already contacted the company shipping your wheels to you and gave them my home address so you can still upgrade his wheels. C’mon, pack up your tools, Mom’s waiting.”

 

At that, the younger boy began to look a little panicked. He dragged his hands through his hair and stood, scurrying around the room to get all of the tools he needed in his toolbox. Jim took a moment to feel just a little amused. For someone that didn’t talk about his parents or adults in general very kindly, this kid was sure nervous about making a good impression.

 

With Tony’s arms full of his toolbox and Dum-E’s admittedly large charging station, Jim took pity on the kid and grabbed the bag he’d packed for him. He rolled his eyes when the robot beeped and took the charging station from Tony’s arms. “I’d say you guys were super codependent, but I guess that’s normal for a father and child.”

 

“I’m not his father!” Tony squawked, clutching the toolbox to his chest. When the robot beeped sadly, he went a little wild-eyed. “You don’t even know what a father is, Dum-E!” The robot only beeped again.

 

Jim wasn’t sorry.

 

Luckily, his mom had listened to him and had had his dad remove the back seats of the car, so getting Dum-E into it was more a matter of convincing the robot it needed to compact itself rather than having to play Tetris. It seemed reluctant to, though. Jim wondered if the robot was remembering what happened the last time it’d left the school dorms. What exactly had happened in that accident with Tony?

 

“I’m sorry, what did you say the robot’s name was again?” Roberta asked pleasantly.

 

Tony cringed, embarrassed. “It, uh, it’s… Um… It’s… Dum-E?”

 

“Alright,” Roberta said, then turned, barking, “Dum-E, get in the car!”

 

Dum-E beeped and obediently folded itself down to fit in the trunk, somehow managing to seem… bashful. Tony looked like he wanted to jump into the trunk of the van as well, blushing.

 

“Mom voice conquers all,” Roberta said by way of explanation, plucked the toolbox out of his arms to put in the trunk, then shut the trunk. “Get in the van, dear.”

 

“Yes’m,” Tony mumbled, scurrying around to clamber inside.

 

Roberta turned to Jim and smiled a little. “He’s going to be a  _delight._ ”

 

“Well, he’s gonna be somethin’,” Jim allowed.

 

.-.-.-.

 

Tony  _was_  something. He was  _awkward_.

 

“Your hovering is weird,” Jim told him. “Mom, Tony’s being weird. Give him a chore.”

 

“Why don’t you set the table, honey?” Roberta suggested kindly.

 

Tony edged into the kitchen like he was afraid everything he touched might break. “Okay.”

 

“Plates,” Roberta added, pointing at a cupboard, then at a drawer. “Cutlery. I hope you don’t have any food allergies.”

 

“No,” Tony said, awkwardly grabbing down five plates.

 

Roberta turned and gave Jim a stern look.

 

Jim wanted to roll his eyes, but he knew better, so he walked over to grab the head of lettuce she handed him. “You know they sell pre-made salads in bags, right?”

 

“Sounds like you don’t want any of these pork cutlets,” Roberta retorted.

 

Jim grabbed a knife without another word.

 

Dinner went like it always did. Jeanette was chattering about classes and boys. His dad was talking about what had gone on at work that day. His mom—his mom was trying to get Tony to answer questions with more than one word. Jim kicked him under the table.

 

“Ow!” Tony exclaimed, and looked at him with big, wounded eyes. “Why?!”

 

“ _James Rupert Rhodes,_ ” Roberta said loudly, but was waylaid by Tony bursting out into hysterical giggles.

 

“Your middle name is  _Rupert._ ”

 

Jim scowled at him. “Shut up, man, your middle name is Edward!”

 

.-.-.-.

 

 “There’s something wrong with that child,” Roberta said, handing Jim a rinsed plate.

 

Jim snorted without humor. “You’re telling me.”

 

“I’m glad you invited him, honey,” she added quietly. “Feel free to invite him over again.”

 

He laughed a little. “You’re just saying that because you taught Dum-E to vacuum.”

 

“That little robot is  _delightful!_ ” Roberta exclaimed happily.

 

“You could’ve taught it to do the dishes, you know.”

 

“Please, Jim,” she scoffed, handing him another plate. “There’s a reason I had Dum-E practice on the shitty carpet. I  _like_  my dinnerware.”

 

.-.-.-.

 

Later, when Roberta and Terrance had shooed everyone to bed (“ _You_  are on vacation. We’re not.”), Jim turned onto his side to look at Tony, curled up in the sleeping bag that he’d insisted on taking. “So?”

 

Tony turned from scribbling in a notebook, probably something that would revolutionize the world. “So what?”

 

Jim gave him a flat look. “So how are you doing?”

 

Tony hummed and looked back at his notebook, frowning. “Fine, I guess.”

 

“If you’re uncomfortable, you can say so.”

 

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

 

“You’re a talker, Tony. And getting answers out of you at dinner was like pulling teeth.”

 

Tony wrote something down, then lifted his head to stare at the wall. “…It’s just… weird.”

 

Jim raised an eyebrow. “Weirder than you?”

 

“Just—” The younger boy frowned, and it struck Jim just how young this guy really was—he was only turning fifteen. He was still a kid. “…It’s weird,” he repeated quietly. “Having someone actually care about what I’m doing.”

 

Jim tried to smile. He didn’t know if he managed it. “C’mon, Tones. Who wouldn’t care what you’re doing?”

 

Tony was silent for a moment before he forced out a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m just being weird. But what’s new about that, right?”

 

.-.-.-.

 

By the time Tony had started opening up, it was basically time for them to go back to school. Still, somehow his mom had wrangled a promise of Tony visiting again, so Jim decided it hadn’t gone too badly.

 

“I can’t believe Mom gave you more cookies than me,” Jim complained as he helped him carry everything back to their dorm.

 

Tony smiled shyly down at the care boxes she’d sent them back to school with. “She hugged me goodbye.”

 

Something deep in his chest hurt at how happy the boy sounded. “Why wouldn’t she? You’re a nice guy once you cut through the bullshit.”

 

Tony turned to look up at him, looking so hopeful that now  _that_  hurt. “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah, Tony,” Jim said, and the brunet beamed up at him like the sun.

 

.-.-.-.

 

It was a couple weeks later, after Tony had talked to Roberta on the phone a couple times, that Tony asked if they could cuddle.

 

“Okay, but you know this is weird, right?” Jim sighed.

 

Tony shrank. “Oh.”

 

“Hey, that doesn’t mean  _no,_ ” Jim said, grabbing the front of his shirt and tugging him down onto the tiny bed MIT provided its students. He ignored the younger boy’s startled yelp and muscled him into a more comfortable position. “Man, I hope you stop being so bony when you’re older. I don’t know if I can handle cuddling with a bag of bones for the rest of my life.”

 

“…We’re gonna keep being friends?” Tony asked hopefully.

 

Jim scowled. “Uh, yeah! You let me help you build a robot! As awkward as you are, you’re a really cool kid.”

 

“BB isn’t  _that_  great,” Tony mumbled, glancing at Dum-E.

 

“Yeah, but BB has never spilled the eggs, bacon, or juice.”

 

“…Dum-E’s  _trying._ ”

 

Jim rolled his eyes. “I know, Tony, and it’s super cool that you made a learning robot, even if we’re definitely not getting the deposit on our dorm back.”

 

“…I’ll give your half back to you…”

 

“That’s not the point,” Jim sighed. “Listen, Tony, you’re awkward as hell and super weird, but I like you. Okay? You don’t have to worry about that. So you can stop sucking up to my mom thinking that if I get tired of you she’ll force me to stay your friend.”

 

Tony muttered to himself, embarrassed.

 

.-.-.-.

 

“I wish my dad liked me as much as your dad likes you,” Tony said suddenly, fingers pausing on one of Dum-E’s struts.

 

Jim nearly spilled Cheetos all over his chemistry homework, choking. “Wh-!?”

 

Tony was super careful about not making eye contact with him. “Your dad says he’s proud of you and stuff. Mine… mine never does.”

 

“Well, your dad’s a fucking dumbass then,” Jim snapped. “If I had a kid as smart as you, I’d definitely be proud of you.”

 

Tony finally turned, smile shaky. “Really?”

 

“Of course! Tony, you made a robot that learns  _and_  a robot that makes food for us when we have hangovers. I mean, sure, Dum-E is obviously more impressive than Breakfast ‘Bot,” Jim added when the younger boy started to frown. “But it’s very hard not to appreciate BB more when my brain is trying to escape my skull through my temples.”

 

Tony turned to look at BB, mouth a thin line. “…Yeah. Dum-E still drops coffee on me.”

 

Dum-E beeped sadly.

 

“It’s okay, buddy, you’re trying,” Jim told the robot, and then stopped to stare stonily at the wall, because he’d never talked to objects as much as he did now that he’d met Tony.

 

On the bright side, Dum-E was a (mostly) sentient object.

 

.-.-.-.

 

Jim noticed that Tony didn’t have a lot of friends. Of course he did—Tony usually just tagged along with him. He’d thought that would change, but here they were, second year at MIT, and Tony was still only going between classes, the lab, and their dorm unless he invited him out.

 

“You know you’re allowed to make your own friends,” Jim pointed out, helping the younger boy hang a poster of a beautiful, sleek car over his bed. Tony was always bad about getting his side of the room decorated.

 

Tony was silent for a minute, then said, “Not very good at being friends.”

 

Jim gave him an incredulous look. Sure, Tony was a little awkward, but that was because he was _years younger than everyone._  And okay, so he was a lot smarter than everyone too. But he was also the most generous person Jim knew, buying things for people if he thought they needed them, taking extra time to explain things when people were confused, lending an ear and shoulder to cry on—so long as he was allowed to tinker as he listened.

 

Tony noticed his stare and hunched his shoulders defensively. “Listen, no one wants a know-it-all as a friend.”

 

That was spoken like he’d heard it before. Probably multiple times.

 

“Okay, first of all, you’re not a know-it-all, because you’re not a jerk about how much you know,” Jim told him, scowling. “And second of all, um, you’re in  _college?_   _Everyone_  wants to have a know-it-all as their friend!” He paused. “…And not just to use you,” he added carefully, because the last thing he wanted was for Tony to let someone take advantage of his knowledge just to try and be liked. “It’s comforting to know you have a friend you can go to with questions when you’re confused.”

 

Tony frowned and smoothed his hands over the poster. “…I’ve never really had a friend before.”

 

Jim wanted to punch things and break noses. Instead, he swallowed down his anger and frustration and wrapped an arm around the younger boy’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze. “Well, I’m your friend. Just take your cues from me.”

 

“So, become roommates with people and then keep them from sleeping well by snoring loudly,” Tony said thoughtfully, then giggled when he slid his arm up to wrap around his neck, trapping him for enthusiastic noogies. “Rhodey nooo!”

 

“I don’t snore!” Jim teased, rubbing his knuckles over the younger boy’s scalp. “Say it!”

 

“No!”

 

“Say it!”

 

“ _No!_ ”

 

“Be a shame if I just noogied the brain right out of your he—Ow!”

 

Tony looked up as he was released, worried, and let out a horrified yelp when he saw that Dum-E was trying to press his claw against Jim’s head. “Dum-E no you can’t give people noogies! You’re gonna hurt him!”

 

Dum-E beeped sadly and rolled backward, claw bowing apologetically.

 

Jim rubbed the top of his head and wondered if any of his hair had been pulled out. “Jeez, Dum-E.”

 

Dum-E beeped again, ashamed.

 

Jim sighed, frowning. “Just… just watch out for people’s heads, Dum-E. They’re kind of delicate.” He paused. “…Like eggs.”

 

Dum-E’s claw dipped lower. It hadn’t gotten the hang of holding eggs without crushing them yet.

 

.-.-.-.

 

Jim walked into the dorm and paused when he saw the curtains all shut, the lamps off, and the lights out. Tony liked their room to be bright so he could see his tiny components better when he was building things.

 

A flashlight turned on a moment later, and Dum-E beeped and rolled up to him.

 

“Thanks, I guess,” he said, shining the light around the room and pausing when he caught the lump on Tony’s bed. He frowned and walked over, reaching out to gently shake him. “Hey, what’s going on?”

 

“You haven’t heard?” Tony asked dully.

 

Jim let out a sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Uh, I’m asking what’s going on, so no, clearly I have not.” When the younger boy didn’t say anything, he gave him another gentle shake. “Hey, c’mon, Tones. I wanna help.”

 

Tony remained silent for a long moment before he whispered, “They were all laughing at me.”

 

“Who was? Why?” Jim asked, alarmed. “What happened?”

 

“…I got my chemicals mixed up in chemistry and caused a small explosion.”

 

Jim blanched. “An explosion!? Tony, are you okay?!”

 

“Yeah, I just—it was embarrassing. Even the professor laughed.”

 

Jim was going to compose a very scathing letter and send it to the dean. “Well, I still wanna check you over anyway. C’mon, sit up.”

 

Tony whined but eventually let himself be bullied into sitting up, blankets falling from his shoulders. He frowned, only just slightly pouting.

 

Jim nearly threw the flashlight. “Holy shit Tones where are your eyebrows?!”

 

“I knooooow!” Tony wailed, turning and planting his face back into his pillow. “They got burnt off in the explosion!”

 

“Oh my God!”

 

Tony buried his head under the pillow instead. “So people are gonna  _keep_  laughing at me!”

 

He sounded so distraught that Jim couldn’t help blurting out, “No they’re not.”

 

Tony sat up and pointed at his face, which he saw now also had a couple first degree burns around where his goggles would have been. “Rhodey  _look at me._  I have no eyebrows! I looked it up—it can take up to eight months for eyebrows to grow back all the waaay!”

 

“That’s… a really long time,” Jim replied in disbelief.

 

“I have to go around school like this!”

 

“No,” Jim said immediately, because Tony was already distressed and embarrassed and he didn’t need the added stress of  _that._  “Wait here a minute.”

 

Tony whined. “Where would I go? Someplace people would see my hideous face?!”

 

Jim would usually call him a total drama queen but to be honest he would probably be super embarrassed if he suddenly had no eyebrows and people laughed at him instead of immediately asking if he was okay.

 

It was only a matter of saying ‘you know that cute kid with the robot? He blew his eyebrows off and needs help’ for the girls in the dorm a few doors down to come running with brow pencils and brushes and mascara, cooing about the ‘poor baby.’

 

Tony would usually pitch a fit about being called a baby, but Jim figured it was hard to be upset when four different girls were paying attention to him and teaching him how to draw on realistic eyebrows.

 

.-.-.-.

 

 “Hey, Rhodey?” Tony asked later that night.

 

Jim scowled at his poetry homework. Fucking required credits. “Hmm?”

 

“…Can we stay friends after college, too?”

 

Jim frowned and turned to look at him, but Tony had his back to him, carefully going over Dum-E’s code. He was used to Tony pretending he was okay or didn’t care, though, so he could see his tense shoulders, the jerky movements of his typing hands.

 

Jim stared at him for a moment before saying, “Yeah, Tones. We’re gonna stay friends for a really long time.”

 

He watched the younger boy’s shoulders relax and smiled a little.

 

Then Dum-E jerked and swung his arm around, smashing into Tony’s bedside table and then wheeling around the room at increasing speed. “Ah, shit!”

 

“DUM-E NO DUM-E NO DUM-E NO!” Tony shouted, typing wildly on his computer.

 

Jim leapt off the bed and basically tackled the robot into a wall before he could do more damage to their dorm, forcing the chassis against the wall with his shoulder. He only relaxed when he heard Dum-E shutting down, leaning back to check out the damage. He sighed. “…Am I ever going to get the deposit back on any of these dorms?”

 

“I’ll pay you your half,” Tony offered shyly.

 

Jim sighed again and walked over to wrap his arms around the boy’s shoulders. “Tony, you’re weird, but you’re a good kid.”

 

Tony opened his mouth, then shut it again, instead turning to snuggle into his chest.


End file.
